A common question people brand new to digital marketing ask is: “If we start an AdWords PPC campaign through Google, will it aid our SEO?”

A common misconception is that if you pay Google, it will help you out organically. Thankfully that isn’t the case, Google doesn’t give ANY preference to websites that run PPC campaigns when it comes to organic listing.

What are PPC ads?

On a search engine results page, there are two main types of listings. Paid listings (PPC) appear at the very top, on the side and sometimes at the bottom of a results page and although it’s not instantly obvious, Google designates these as “Ads”.

This pleases advertisers since consumers don’t want to feel like they are being given a cold sell. The listings appear based on the amount of money advertisers are willing to bid on certain keywords (combined with their quality score). The most competitive keywords cost more each time the link is clicked on.

As you are paying the search engine (usually Google) it’s natural to wonder if PPC spending affects organic rank but as already stated, it doesn’t.

What are SEO (organic) listings?

Organic listings appear directly in the middle of the page. While businesses don’t pay for these listings, they definitely aren’t free for competitive keywords. It takes considered effort to get a website to rank prominently in a search engine’s organic section.

Some of the more naive companies might think: “We don’t need it. If we can invest in PPC and get an ROI then why worry about SEO?". There are two main reasons why this type of thought can do you harm:

1) Web users are savvy and some avoid the “paid” section at all costs. The organic listing section tends to be more trusted and, because of this, much more clicked.

2) We use the analogy that PPC is like renting and SEO is like buying. Once you have invested in SEO and got your rankings organically you are there all day every day and don't pay each click. With PPC you pay out for each click, forever.

What is the best approach?

PPC and SEO each have strengths and weaknesses. SEO is the cornerstone of every successful online business because the ROI is much greater than any other digital marketing type.

For a new website, it’s recommended to do both but once you have a strong SEO base you can chose to use PPC for seasonal or more niche needs.

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